Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many occasions his Department has invited home-country officials to interview asylum seekers; and what the nationality of those officials was in each year since 2010.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
We have a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. All asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits by assessing all evidence provided by the claimant against published country information. In line with our legal duty of confidentiality, we do not disclose information about asylum claims to an individual’s home country. We do not facilitate interviews with representatives from an asylum seeker’s home country whilst their claim is being considered.
Only after an individual’s asylum claim is refused, may it become necessary, as with foreign national offenders and those without a legal basis for remaining in the UK, to confirm their identity and nationality with the receiving country and to obtain a travel document to facilitate a voluntary or enforced return.
It is a requirement of some foreign governments to interview such individuals to confirm identity/nationality and to agree to issue a travel document. These interviews are coordinated in a number of ways based on the circumstances of the person’s case and the particular process for re-documentation stipulated by the receiving foreign government. These include ad-hoc interviews for individuals and regular interview exercises with UK based officials from diplomatic missions, and central government officials visiting the UK.
The number of occasions these activities took place is not held in a format that is reportable.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of countries whose officials have conducted interviews;
Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, China, Colombia, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Liberia, Malaysia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Tunisia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2018 to Question 178257 on Trade Promotion, if he will publish the visits undertaken by each Trade Envoy in the last year.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The table below outlines all overseas visits undertaken by the PM’s Trade Envoys from October 2017 – September 2018. In total they have undertaken 61 overseas visits to 41 markets in the last year.
Trade Envoy | Market visited | Date Markets visited: |
Adam Afriyie MP | Ghana Ghana, Guinea Ghana, Guinea | 8-11 November 2017 8-13 April 16-21 September 2018 |
Andrew Murrison MP | Morocco Tunisia | 7-10 February 2018 No visit |
Andrew Percy MP | Canada | 4-9 November 2017 8-12 February 2108 27-11 June 2018 |
Andrew Selous MP | South Africa | 6-9 February 2018 27-30 August 2018 |
Baroness Bonham-Carter | Mexico | 10-16 February 2018 23-30 September 2018 |
Baroness Morris | Kuwait | 5-8 December 2017 |
Baroness Nicholson | Azerbaijan, Kuwait(for Iraq conference) Turkmenistan | 12-16 February 2018 28 May-1 June 2018 |
Baroness Northover | Angola Zambia | 7-10 November 2017 19-21 September 2018 26-28 September 2018 8-16 February 2018 |
Ed Vaizey MP | Vietnam Cambodia, Laos Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos | 5-11 November 2017 8-12 February 2018 29 September - 3 October 2018 |
Jeremy Lefroy MP | Ethiopia | 8-11 November 2017 11-16 February 2018 28-31 May 2018 3-5 September 2018 |
John Howell MP | Nigeria | 6-9 November 2017 |
Julian Knight MP | Mongolia | 5-10 April 2018 19-24 September 2018 |
Lord Astor | Oman | 2-6 October 2017 11-14 February 2018 |
Lord Faulkner | Taiwan | 24-31 January 2018 17-22 September 2018 |
Lord Hollick | Tanzania | 1-4 October 2017 |
Lord Janvrin | Turkey | 2-5 October 2017 12-14 February 2018 |
Lord King | Saudi Arabia | 23-25 September 2017 |
Lord Lamont | Iran | 23-28 September 2018 |
Lord Popat | Uganda Rwanda | 16-24 November 2017 13-16 February 2018 |
Lord Risby | Algeria | 6-9 November 2017 29-1 May 2018 |
Mark Menzies MP | Columbia, Chile Columbia, Chile Peru | 4-10 November 2017 31 March-11 April 2018 23-28 September 2018 |
Mark Pritchard MP | Georgia, Armenia | 6-9 October 2017 1-10 November 2017 7-21 February 2018 6-11 June 2018 |
Paul Scully MP | Thailand | 5-11 November 2017 |
Ranil Jayawardena MP | Sri Lanka | 14-17 February 2018 17-21 September 2018 |
Rehman Chishti MP | Pakistan | 8-11 November 2017 11-15 February 2018 14-18 September 2018 |
Richard Graham MP | Malaysia Indonesia | 3-5 November 2017 31 July – 3 August 2018 11-13 April 2018 |
Rushanara Ali MP | Bangladesh | 20-31 July 2018 |
Simon Hart MP | Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic | 10-13 April 2018 |
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson | Egypt | 28 July – 1 August 2018 22-27 September 2018 |
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their response to the International Development Committee’s report Definition and administration of ODA (HC 1011), whether any middle-income country on the World Bank’s list may be eligible for UK Official Development Assistance (ODA); and which of those countries are currently in receipt of UK ODA.
Answered by Lord Bates
The OECD DAC determines which countries are ODA eligible based on World Bank GNI per capita data. The list of ODA eligible countries consists of all low and Middle-Income countries except for those that are members of the G8 or the European Union. The UK provided bilateral ODA through a range of government departments to the following middle-income countries in 2016:
Middle Income Countries (Lower & Upper) in Receipt of 2016 bilateral UK ODA | ||
Albania | Gabon | Nicaragua |
Algeria | Georgia | Nigeria |
Antigua and Barbuda | Ghana | Pakistan |
Argentina | Grenada | Panama |
Armenia | Guatemala | Papua New Guinea |
Azerbaijan | Guyana | Paraguay |
Belarus | Honduras | Peru |
Belize | India | Philippines |
Bolivia | Indonesia | Serbia |
Bosnia-Herzegovina | Iran | Seychelles |
Botswana | Iraq | South Africa |
Brazil | Jamaica | Sri Lanka |
Cameroon | Jordan | St. Helena |
Cape Verde | Kazakhstan | St. Lucia |
Chile | Kosovo | St.Vincent & Grenadines |
China | Kyrgyz Republic | Swaziland |
Colombia | Lebanon | Syria |
Congo, Rep. | Libya | Thailand |
Costa Rica | Malaysia | Tunisia |
Cote d'Ivoire | Maldives | Turkey |
Cuba | Mauritius | Turkmenistan |
Dominica | Mexico | Ukraine |
Dominican Republic | Moldova | Uruguay |
Ecuador | Mongolia | Uzbekistan |
Egypt | Montenegro | Venezuela |
El Salvador | Montserrat | Vietnam |
Fiji | Morocco | West Bank & Gaza Strip |
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | Namibia |
|
Source: Statistics on International Development 2017
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Iranian Government in relation to the recent missile attack on an Iranian Kurdish camp in Koya in the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has been following recent events in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with concern.
Following the attack near Koya, Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq travelled to Kurdistan Region of Iraq to speak to all parties alongside Consul General Erbil. On 13 September the Ambassador publicly condemned the attacks as disproportionate and dangerous.
Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran regularly raises our concerns over Iran's destabilising activity in the region, pressing the Government of Iran to play a more constructive role. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials continue to engage regularly on this and other issues with Iran at all levels.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2017-18, what the (a) 30 operations and (b) 25 countries are in which UK armed forces personnel are deployed.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The over 30 operations referred to in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts include:
BACKWELL
BRANTA
CABRIT
CATAN
CROSSWAYS
ELGIN
FAIRFIELD
HALLEX
INVOKER
KIPION
LITTEN
MANSIO
METRO
MODEST
MONOGRAM
NEWCOMBE
ORBITAL
RECOMPOSE
PANAKA
PERCIVAL
PRAISER
PRESIDIUM
SHADER
TAILPIN
TANGHAM
TORAL
TOSCA
TRAMAL
TRENTON
TURUS
VOGUL
The countries referred to in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts include:
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Columbia
Cyprus
Democratic Republic of Congo
Egypt
Estonia
Iraq
Italy
Jordan
Kenya
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Kosovo
Kuwait
Libya
Mali
Niger
Nigeria
Pakistan
Poland
Somalia
South Sudan
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Some operational names and locations have been excluded for operational security. Changes in operational circumstances and the strategic environment affect where UK Armed Forces personnel are deployed.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which foreign armed forces the UK armed forces has trained in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The list below sets out the foreign states that were provided training and/or education by the UK Armed Forces for the period 25 July 2017 – 25 July 2018.
Afghanistan |
Albania |
Algeria |
Angola |
Anguilla |
Antigua and Barbuda |
Argentina |
Armenia |
Australia |
Austria |
Azerbaijan |
Bahamas, The |
Bahrain |
Bangladesh |
Barbados |
Belarus |
Belgium |
Belize |
Bermuda |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Botswana |
Brazil |
Brunei |
Bulgaria |
Cameroon |
Canada |
Chile |
China |
Colombia |
Cote D'Ivoire |
Croatia |
Cyprus |
Czech Republic |
Denmark |
Djibouti |
Dominican Republic |
East Timor |
Egypt |
Eritrea |
Estonia |
Ethiopia |
Fiji |
Finland |
France |
Gambia, The |
Georgia |
Germany |
Ghana |
Greece |
Guatemala |
Guyana |
Hungary |
Iceland |
India |
Indonesia |
Iraq |
Ireland |
Israel |
Italy |
Jamaica |
Japan |
Jordan |
Kazakhstan |
Kenya |
Kosovo |
Kuwait |
Kyrgyzstan |
Latvia |
Lebanon |
Liechtenstein |
Lithuania |
Luxembourg |
Macedonia |
Madagascar |
Malawi |
Malaysia |
Mali |
Malta |
Mauritania |
Mauritius |
Mexico |
Moldova |
Mongolia |
Montenegro |
Montserrat |
Morocco |
Nepal |
Netherlands |
New Zealand |
Niger |
Nigeria |
Norway |
Oman |
Pakistan |
Palestinian Autonomous Areas |
Papua New Guinea |
Paraguay |
Peru |
Philippines |
Poland |
Portugal |
Qatar |
Romania |
Rwanda |
Saudi Arabia |
Senegal |
Serbia |
Seychelles |
Sierra Leone |
Singapore |
Slovakia |
Slovenia |
Somalia |
South Africa |
South Korea |
Spain |
Sri Lanka |
St. Lucia |
Sudan |
Sweden |
Switzerland |
Tajikistan |
Tanzania |
Thailand |
Tonga |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Tunisia |
Turkey |
Uganda |
Ukraine |
United Arab Emirates |
Uruguay |
United States |
Uzbekistan |
Vanuatu |
Vietnam |
Zambia |
Zimbabwe |
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with counterparts at the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation of internally displaced people in Colombia.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Colombia's 52 year conflict has claimed over 8 million victims including more than 7 million displaced persons. In recent years, only the conflict in Syria has seen a larger number of IDPs caused by internal conflict.
Speaking times at the Human Rights Council are limited, so it is impossible to cover every country of concern in the UK intervention. On this occasion, the UK chose to prioritise raising Iraq, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the situation for IDPs had deteriorated significantly during recent months.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which markets of interest to the UK’s private sector exporters are restricted by (1) a sanctions regime, or (2) the UK’s foreign policy which limits ministerial support for those exporters.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
HMG actively promotes international trade within a rules based international order. Maintaining this sometimes requires the application of sanctions. The UK currently implements multilateral trade sanctions set by the UN, EU, and OSCE relating to:
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma, Central African Republic, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
These sanctions regimes contain measures which may restrict the activities of UK exporters.
There are no policy restrictions on Ministerial support for exporters to markets not otherwise subject to sanctions.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their assessment that Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world; and why, at the 38th session of the Human Rights Council, they did not include Colombia in the references made to countries where there are large numbers of internally displaced persons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Colombia's 52 year conflict has claimed over 8 million victims including more than 7 million displaced persons. In recent years, only the conflict in Syria has seen a larger number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) caused by internal conflict.
Speaking times at the Human Rights Council are limited, so it is impossible to cover every country of concern in the UK intervention. On this occasion, the UK chose to prioritise raising Iraq, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the situation for IDPs had deteriorated significantly during recent months.
Concerns about major displacements in Colombia were also included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2017 Human Rights report, published on 16 July.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on new trade deals with (1) Argentina, (2) Ukraine, (3) Algeria, (4) Uganda, and (5) Iraq; how many visits to those countries have been made since 23 June 2016 by ministers and officials of the Department for International Trade; and what was the total cost of such visits.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The United Kingdom cannot negotiate its own trade agreements while it is still a member of the European Union. The UK remains committed to supporting ongoing EU negotiations with third countries and will remain a strong advocate for free trade.
As the UK leaves the EU, the Government is seeking to ensure continuity for our existing EU trade agreements, including those with: Algeria, Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, South Africa (as part of the Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement), South Korea and Ukraine, as well as with Vietnam once the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement has been ratified.
The UK continues to support the implementation of the EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the East Africa Community (EAC), including Kenya. If all EAC partners find a way to sign the EPA, the UK will also seek to replicate the effects of this agreement before we leave the EU.
The Government is talking with a range of key trade partners to explore the best ways of delivering our priorities for our trade and investment relationships. These include working groups with Colombia, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey, and commercial dialogues with Argentina and Thailand.
We have introduced legislation which enables the UK to put in place a trade preference scheme for developing countries which will, as a minimum, provide the same level of access as the EU’s scheme. Ethiopia, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Tanzania and Uganda are currently beneficiaries of the EU scheme.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is working with all the listed countries on promoting trade and investment relationships, including through our overseas network of embassies and High Commissions. The number of visits to these countries by Ministers from DIT are given in the tables below. DIT’s Permanent Secretary (Antonia Romeo) and Second Permanent Secretary (Crawford Falconer) have not visited these countries in the period specified. Visits to these countries by other DIT officials is not recorded centrally.
Country | Total visits (23 June 2016 – present) |
Mexico | 3 |
Ethiopia | 1 |
Philippines | 1 |
Egypt | 1 |
Vietnam | 2 |
DRC | 0 |
Iran | 0 |
Turkey | 3 |
Thailand | 3 |
Burma | 1 |
South Africa | 3 |
Tanzania | 0 |
South Korea | 3 |
Colombia | 2 |
Kenya | 1 |
Argentina | 2 |
Ukraine | 0 |
Algeria | 0 |
Uganda | 1 |
Iraq | 0 |
Details of expenditure for DIT Ministerial travel overseas is published on the Gov.uk website on a quarterly basis: www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel-january-to-march-2018.